The 6 Best Day Trips From Pretoria South Africa

As South Africa’s administrative capital, Pretoria is home to the country’s president and has vibrant culture, art and dining scenes. However, the city is also a small one, easily explorable in a few days and a quick drive from several fantastic travel destinations. Some are widely known; others are well-kept secrets, even for South Africans. Here are six of Pretoria’s best day trips, all an hour or less from the city by car.

Hartbeespoort

The town of Hartbeespoort (or ‘Harties’), best known for its large dam, is a frequent holiday destination for South Africans living in Pretoria and Johannesburg. While the water is unfortunately not safe for swimming, boating on the dam is a popular activity. The dam wall that bisects the lake is a beautiful spot for photographs.

Harties offers many activities separate from the dam. The fabulous Harties Aerial Cableway carries visitors up the steep ridge beside the dam, rewarding them with stunning views and a pizzeria at the top. For something a bit quirkier, check out Pretville – a former movie set depicting a fictional South African town in the 1950s.

The Fo Guang Shan built the spectacular Nan Hua Temple

The tiny town of Bronkhorstspruit has two must-see attractions: the Nan Hua Temple (a huge, spectacular Buddhist temple built by the Taiwanese Fo Guang Shan Buddhist monastic order) and the Anton Smit Sculpture Park. Visiting the Nan Hua Temple is especially entertaining during its Chinese New Year celebration, which draws large crowds and offers dragon dances and other cultural performances. The sculpture park is brilliant at any time of year.

Tswaing Meteorite Crater

Perhaps the most interesting and least-known Pretoria day trip destination is the Tswaing Meteorite Crater – a 200,000-year-old, 1.3km-wide (0.8mi-wide) crater created when a meteor the size of a football pitch crashed into Earth. Today, the crater, which has an eerie-looking salt lake at its centre, is protected by a government-run nature reserve and is open to the public. A hike around the crater takes about two hours – go early in the morning to avoid the heat.

Cullinan

Cullinan is a small town best known for its diamond mine, where the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond was discovered in 1905. Today, a part of the diamond is located in the Tower of London on the British Sovereign’s Scepter with Cross. The town has several historic houses and a lovely old country church, and the mining company (which is still operational) offers underground mine tours. Don’t leave Cullinan without lunch at As Greek as it Gets, one of South Africa’s best (and least expected) Greek restaurants.

Dinokeng Game Reserve

The only ‘Big Five’ (meaning it has populations of lion, elephant, leopard, rhino and buffalo) game reserve in Gauteng province is Dinokeng – a relatively new reserve created specifically to cater to tourists in Johannesburg and Pretoria. Less than 45 minutes from downtown Pretoria, Dinokeng has a range of private lodges with varying levels of luxury. Visitors can book guided game drives or drive their own vehicles in designated sections of the reserve.

Cradle of Humankind

A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Cradle of Humankind is home to the famous Sterkfontein Caves and some of the world’s oldest human fossils. Archaeologist Dr Robert Broom discovered 2-million-year-old ‘Mrs Ples’ – considered one of the most intact pre-human skulls ever found – in 1947. For a perfect day trip, visitors can tour Sterkfontein together with Maropeng, the official visitors’ centre for the Cradle of Humankind, which takes guests on an exciting journey through time and space. The area around the Cradle of Humankind is home to several prominent fine-dining restaurants and boutique hotels.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.